Chapter 4

Sirius had a lot on his mind as he approached the home of the person he hoped would give up a little blood for a good cause. Harry was in danger. Maybe not immediate danger but Voldemort wasn't gone. Sirius had no idea how soon the bastard would return but he knew he'd be after Harry when he came. It made Sirius feel even more urgency to get this bloody thing done.

He approached the dark doorway found at the back of the market district of Hogsmeade with caution. It was dark out and Sirius had no desire to be seen. He wasn't sure if word of his death had spread to the general public yet but he had no desire to find out. He was certain the news of his arrest was common knowledge. That was reason enough to avoid pretty much everyone.

Sirius reached the darkly stained wooden door and wrapped his knuckles in a rat-a-tat-tat-tat-rat-tat pattern. It took a few moments before it squeaked open. A hand reached out and jerked Sirius into a dark room filled with lumpy shapes in odd stacks.

"You got a lot of nerve, showing your face around here," a threatening voice growled at him.

"Good to see you, too, Abe. Can you let go of the neck of my robes please? You're going to make me drop the baby."

Aberforth Dumbledore jumped backwards and threw a quick lumos around the room. Sure enough, Sirius Black was standing before him with a dark-haired baby that he knew had eyes so green they couldn't possibly belong to anyone other than Lily Evans.

"As I live and breathe, you've got Harry Potter. Not sure what numbnuts gave you that baby but I'll be taking him now. You don't get to murder his parents and take the tyke to task, too. I won't allow it." Aberforth looked like he meant business.

"Whoa, slow down, there Abe. I didn't betray anyone. Marauders honor. I'll swear it on my magic, if I have to. I would never betray James," Sirius looked so dead serious, no pun intended, that Aberforth almost believed him.

"Swear it now, on your magic, boy and I won't kill you where you stand."

"I, Sirius Orion Black, do swear on my life and magic, that I did not betray James and Lily Potter. I swear I was not their secret keeper. I swear that Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper. On my life and magic, so mote it be." Sirius quickly lit the wand in his hand after he stopped speaking. Aberforth wasn't happy but he was satisfied Sirius wasn't a dirty, lying, back-stabbing bastard who deserved to be buried up to his eyeballs in kerosene and set on fire.

"Humph, I won't kill you then but I still might kick your ass. Why is everyone saying you're dead? How did you get out of Azkaban if you're not dead? They finally give you a trial?" The old man harrumphed as he spoke.

"Not likely," Sirius said with a bitter tinge to his voice. "Called an elf, left a homunculus, and swam for it."

Aberforth laughed in disbelief.

"They don't have elves blocked? I'm surprised you're not the only one walking free right now." Aberforth would never stop being surprised by the incompetence of the government.

"They do but I found a way around it. Little Harry here performed some accidental magic and joined me in my cell. After that, I had no choice but to escape. Dementors can't be healthy for a growing boy," Sirius said sarcastically.

"That's a mighty little tyke, to do something like that. Hey, buddy. Want to come to old Aberforth? I'll let you pull on this long, ugly beard." The old man made some faces at the baby who couldn't give a hoot. He was still out cold. Sirius passed him over anyway. He was getting heavy. He planned to send the little thing off to bed when Abe was done holding him.

Sirius told Aberforth everything that had happened so far, including the bits about the soul shards while the old man rocked the sleeping baby. Babies are sweetest when they sleep. Aberforth had just the rocking chair for it in his private quarters off the back of the bar, too. The place was closed for the night and Aberforth was preparing to eat and head to bed before Sirius had barged into his space. Not that Aberforth minded the visit, he just wouldn't admit he enjoyed it.

"Albus probably knew alright. He's stuck on believing that damn prophecy that farce Tralawney made. He probably left the soul shard in the lad because of that. It's what got the Potters killed. Stupid tripe." Aberforth spit as he said the last. He had no tolerance for malarkey like prophecies.

"What are you talking about, Abe? Prophecy? What do you mean some prophecy got James and Lily killed?" Sirius was confused and becoming upset.

"My brother was interviewing that hot mess, Tralawney, in my bar for the divination position. She made a prophecy, er, let me think. … The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the dark lord will mark him as his equal, for neither can live while the other survives … or some crap like that. I heard it. The lady was talking in this loud, weird voice and Albus bought it hook, line, and sinker. Some little snot rocket heard it and ran off to blab to the Dark Idiot. Next thing you know, both Lily Evans and that sweet little Alice Fortescue, were both going into hiding with their idiot husbands and their pregnant bellies. A bunch of rubbish until a bunch of rubbish old geezers believe in it." Aberforth's voice was hot and angry by the end. His older brother was a sucker for romantic stupidity like prophecies. Didn't surprise him at all that Riddle was a sucker, too.

"A stupid prophecy? That's why the Dark Nutter is targeting little Harry? Bollocks. It's too stupid to be real." Sirius wasn't sure if this was a joke or a nightmare.

"Does anything about that idiot Voldemort seem like it has a brain? Tommy Riddle was always a romantic, over-inflated, nutbag." Aberforth spit when he said the name. He hated saying that made up drivel.

"Who is Tommy Riddle? You keep saying that name," Sirius asked curiously.

"Tom Riddle is the real name of Lord Voldesnort. He was a half-blood head boy during the 40's, I think. A real pansy but he thought he was hot stuff because he dabbled in everything evil and dark. Twat was taken out by a toddler. How big and bad could he possibly be?" Aberforth asked, derisively.

"I'm not surprised the shoddy little bastard ended up splitting his soul. He was obsessed with being immortal, even back then. Hubristic little bugger," Aberforth continued.

"Doesn't surprise me if my bloody arrogant bastard of a brother knows about it, too. He thinks he knows everything but he is really a fool. If you ask me, you need to find those things, those soul shards, as soon as possible and put paid to them. Don't let this precious boy be used by my brother to bring some bloody foolish prophecy into being." Sirius wholeheartedly agreed.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. I'm going to blood adopt Harry and change his name. I'm going to hide him in plain sight. He'll go to Hogwarts a changed man. I'll put paid to the half-blood liar myself to keep him safe. I just need a tiny little favor to make it all work." Sirius gave the elder man a puppy dog look.

"That won't work, Black. My brother will still recognize the boy if he's a Black. It'd never hide him. You also need to think about hiding yourself. If they find out you're still alive, you won't be for long. You both need to hide." Aberforth looked at Sirius like he was stupid but Sirius only grinned back.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. I need to hide. I need to be blood adopted first. Then, I'll adopt Harry. With different names, no one will find either of us." Aberfoth stared at the other man like he was nuts.

"Who would be fool enough to adopt you?" Aberfoth asked the other man.

"Hopefully, you," Sirius quipped in response. Aberforh laughed.

"I'm too old for a hellion like you, Black. Plus, my brother would definitely notice some brand new Dumbledores running around, especially in his own school." Aberforth argued in return.

"Aww, come on. You're not that old. Only minorly ancient, not death-warmed-over ancient. You could totally handle me, Pops." He chucked the other man on the shoulder and continued. "Plus, Albus would never think to look for your blood under his very nose. I plan to change the Potter name officially through the bank and seal the records. Harry will still inherit everything, but no one will know it. I will be hidden and so will Harry. The only way anyone would ever know would be if we told them, which we don't plan on doing." Sirius finished with a grin.

"Come on, old man. What do you think? You adopt me, I adopt Harry, you get a secret grandchild, I get to pull a fast one on your brother. It's all upside, friend." Sirius slapped Aberforth on the shoulder.

"I'll even add your name as a middle name in Harry's new name," Sirius said in a sing-song voice. The old man laughed but said nothing. He kept rocking the baby.

Aberforth had never had any children of his own. His lady love, Claritta, had never wanted children. They had lived a happy 65 years together before she had passed away from dragon pox complications. Aberforth never regretted a moment of not having children of his own. He didn't have the patience for the little brats but he did miss having grandchildren. Grandchildren were all the good parts of having children without the messy part of raising them yourself. He could get into the idea of having a secret grandchild.

The two men sat in silence for a long while. Aberforth rocked with the baby and Sirius drank the butterbeer Aberforth had foisted upon him while he was talking. Accepting the blood adoption would also settle another of Aberforth's problems. He needed an heir to pass the Dumbledore holdings onto. It wasn't much. The house in Godric's Hollow. The Hogs Head Bar and Inn. A few galleons and a useless name that he didn't care about. Enmity towards his brother, which it seemed Sirius shared already.

"Alright. It sounds like a plan to me, but I get to use the boy as my heir. If Albus is still kicking around when I'm dead, you can tell him you got drunk here on the regular and I didn't seem to hate you. That's a good enough reason for the old coot." Aberforth said the last in a sarcastic voice. He still loved his brother and he had forgiven the bugger but he would never forget.

"Instead of my name as a middle name, use my mother's. Her name was Kendra. Kendrick would be a good version of the name. It's less likely my brother would be suspicious if he ever heard it. You'll have to make me a promise, too." The older man looked at the younger, sternly.

"Name it, friend. You're doing me and little Harry a big favor with this. If it's in my power, I'll do what you ask." Sirius looked at the man, a huge grin on his face. He felt like he was getting away with a huge prank by using Abe's blood for the adoption.

"If you ever have a little girl, you'll name her Arianna, after my sister. She died too soon. Her life was tragic from start to finish. She deserves to be remembered after I'm gone." Aberforth was deadly serious about this request. Arianna was a little beauty. She didn't deserve to be attacked by muggles. She didn't deserve to lose control of her magic. She didn't deserve to be killed by her own dunderheaded oldest brother and his friend. She deserved to be remembered.

"Done. It would be my pleasure. If I ever do have a daughter, Arianna will be a proud name for the bonnie wee lass." Sirius said the last words in a joking manner. Aberforth laughed. His sister was a bonnie wee firecracker and he hoped that spirit carried through to Sirius' future kids. The bastard deserved some recompense.

The two men leaned towards one another and shook.

"I just need to figure out where Harry and I should hide once the adoption is complete. I was thinking we'd go to the muggle world and lose ourselves amongst the unwashed masses. You'll have to come visit us. We wouldn't want to be seen before Harry heads off to Hogwarts." Sirius wagged his finger at the older man as he said the last.

"You're here and unseen just fine. Where was the boy before he popped off to join his jail bird godfather?" Aberforth asked.

"Dunno. Last I saw him he was with Hagrid. Big guy said Albus wanted Harry at the school. Something about sending him off to live with the muggles. I can only assume they meant Lily's family. Lot of good that would do. Lily's sister was a cunt. She hated magic and all those who practiced it. She came to Lily's wedding but that was the last time they spoke, to my knowledge. The bint tried to object during the ceremony. I thought Lily was going to scratch her eyes out over it. Thankfully, Lily's mum got her to sit down and shut her gob. Right twat, that one." Sirius' eyes were slightly glazed at the awful yet hilarious image. Lily was so angry, Sirius thought she might pop a blood vessel over it all.

"Hmmm. That's funny. I wouldn't have expected James and Lily to choose someone like that as a guardian for Harry." Aberforth looked consternated.

"They didn't, as far as I know. I was first pick, then Alice Longbottom, then Marlene McKinnon, my cousin Andy Tonks, and Mary McDonald. If none of those could take him, Remus was set to choose someone else. He couldn't take the boy because the ministry won't allow people with his condition to have custody of children not their own. Peter, thankfully, wasn't considered mature enough to raise a baby. He still lives with his mom! Or he did until he faked his own death, bloody bastard." Sirius was angry to even think about the shady dodger.

"Makes no sense. Albus must have a plan, the shoddy manipulator that he is. How long has the boy been with you?" Aberforth asked.

"About two weeks now. I'm used to watching out for the full moon thanks to Remus. Harry here showed up two days after the new moon. Must have been about two days after James and Lily died?" Sirius sat in thought.

"Nookie also said Albus mentioned blood wards," Sirius said absently. "At the muggles' house."

"This is no good, son. If Albus was setting up some kind of ward based on the blood relation between Lily and her sister, it will fail if the kid isn't back there by the full moon. If I were you, I'd check their place out and see if there's some way you can hide on site. If you really want to keep my brother in the dark until Harry here is in school, you should try to keep his shoddy plans in line for as long as possible. If he really believes in that prophecy, and he likely does because he's just that kind of bugger, then it would be best to stay with it as long as possible. I wouldn't go back after Harry starts school, but I'd try to stay until he's supposed to, if you can." Aberforth watched the younger man seriously as he spoke. Albus was a bit daft and he stuck his giant conk into other people's business way too often for Aberforth's comfort but he was a tricky man. He had plans within plans, most of the time.

"I hadn't thought of that. I don't know how I'd find Lily's sister. The muggle world is huge!" Sirius wasn't sure about Abe's plan. Lily's sister was a bitch. It would be a good prank to live in her house while she didn't know about it but it would also be stressful over time.

"Do you know her name? Or her husband's name? Most muggles are listed in the telephone book. It has addresses as well as phone numbers," Aberforth said, looking at the younger man like he was an idiot.

"Err, Petunia? Her husband came to the wedding, too. Maybe Doosley? No! Dursley. Vince Dursley. I think." Sirius said, slightly confused.

"That's where you start then. Do you have any idea of the town?" Aberforth asked, unsure if this would work.

Sirius laughed. "Yeah. They live in Little Whinging in Surrey. I thought it was funny because they certainly whinged enough about the wedding." Sirius laughed again at his own joke.

"There you go. Go to Little Whinging, get a phone book out of the telephone booth, and bring it back here. We'll look together." Harry snorted in his sleep against Aberforth's shoulder.

"Okay. I can do that. Just one thing. What's a phone book?"

Aberforth sighed and shook his head. "Maybe I'll come with you. Should I put the tyke down in my bed or do you have another plan?"

Sirius jumped up. "We can put him in his crib. Nookie can watch him while we go get the book."

Sirius popped the trunk out of his pocket and resized it. A few quick minutes to change the guard and the two men were on their way to Surrey.

-oooOOOoooOOOooo-

The two men stood in front of a hideous little box of a house mashed in amongst what felt like a thousand other hideous little box houses.

"This the right one?" Sirius asked, truly confused as to which house was which in this maze of similar houses. Is this how muggles practiced security? Anyone could find your address in a book but no one can find your house because it looks like every other one on the bloody street?

"Says number 4 right there," Aberforth answered, sarcastically.

"Weird," Sirius responded. Aberforth couldn't help but agree.

"Let's sneak around the place and see what we can see," the older man said. He stealthily let the tip of his wand slip out of his sleeve and tapped his own head with it. He slowly faded like a chameleon into the scenery surrounding him. He did the same to the younger man. Once they were disguised as best they could be, they slipped around the side of the dark house.

At almost three o'clock in the morning, the entire street was dark and silent. These were the work-a-day sorts who all slept at night. The men crept around the quiet house and noted a few things. One side of the house had an open side yard. The other side was a garden path with flowers and shrubs surrounding a little stone walkway that slithered like a snake in a long ramble. This side of the house had a small door that popped open easily with an alohomora. The door led to a little shed built into the side of the house. Another door at the far end of the shed led into the house.

The shed was a decent size of about three meters long and two wide. It held some rakes and shovels, a bag of soil and a shelf with gloves and small gardening tools. It was mostly empty, musty, and slightly dirty. It was also perfect for Aberforth's plan.

"You could put some muggle repelling wards on the doors," Aberforth whispered. "There's a little alley between this house and the next. There's a door right there. It's hidden pretty good by the shrubs. You could use it to get in and out."

Sirius wished he had James' invisibility cloak. Maybe Nookie could go get it and anything else of value from Godric's Hollow.

"Yeah," Sirius whispered in return. "Nookie could clean it up and turn this into a mudroom. Just a place to hide the trunk away. Maybe a few bicycles." Sirius was getting into the idea. He could hide with these stuffed shirts and keep Harry safe.

"I can feel the wards. They're weak and brittle. Best get back here tonight and flesh them out," Aberforth said, his skin itching from the poor warding on the place.

"The full moon is tomorrow night. I'll get Nookie and sneak back here. She can fix everything up so the muggles won't be a bother. I'm thinking an illusion on the front gate, so no one will see us in the side yard, too. Then we can get in and out of the alley without notice. Do you think we need a new door, a fake one, into the alley? That way no one sees us leaving the Dursleys?" Sirius asked.

"Might be a good idea. Maybe you can put an illusion on both sides of this little block of garden here. That way you can put a door to the alley straight across from the door to the shed. It will look like there's a garage apartment or something here. If we put a confundus on the door, no one will think to ask who it belongs to. Eventually, you and the young'un will be fixtures in the neighborhood. It will be normal so no one will question it." Aberforth felt confident. Sirius and Harry could hide here and be safe.

"Put the kid into school locally and it should all be right as rain," Aberforth said sagely.

"Yeah. Perfect. Then, Harry will have plenty of records in his new name. Maybe I'll put him in a private school somewhere close but not exactly nearby. It'll keep away any suspicion caused by this Harry attending the same school Harry Potter should have been attending," Sirius replied.

"Now you're thinking, kid. Throw the trail wherever you can. He was too little to have a magical signature registered with the ministry. If you get the name changed right quick, no magical signature will ever be registered for Harry Potter."

"Best get back and cut you good then, Pops. We can't get you a new grandson until it's done," Sirius laughed as he spoke. Both men froze at the sound. The chainsaw like snoring from upstairs paused for a moment and then resumed.

"Better remember to put a silencing charm in here, too," Aberforth muttered, giving Sirius the stink eye.

Sirius didn't respond. Instead, he snuck, very quietly, back out the door and into the night.

-oooOOOoooOOOooo-